Given
83%
while driving a
Volkswagen Golf 1.9 Tdi
(195/65 R15 H) on
a combination of roads
for 16,800
average miles
I drive them on my Golf MK5 only during summer time. 2.5 years old now.
Drove them for 27.000km and they are down from 8mm to 5.7mm tread. I do rotate them front and back regularly.
Cons:
-the only big downside is the road noise, which isn't on the table here and I can't score it in this review. The tyres are a bit noisy, especially on rough surface, you can hear them quite well inside the cabin.
Pros:
-The grip is tricky. Most of the time is phenomenal. Grips almost like a sport tyre, especially on curvy roads. But, on a very smooth surface the wheels spin easily when I floor the car in 2nd gear. But the tyre never left me down during spirited driving, I am confident it will stick in the next corner. The grip is still here, and its the same as when they were new.
-Build. Tyre is strong. Its not easy to damage it or bend it. It looks solid. No damage what so ever. After 27.000km it is still a great tyre, with 10-30 grams weights on the balancing machine, it feels like new.
-Wear is good. Most of my driveing is slow, around town with occasional wheel spin just for fun. My driving on open roads is spirited. The wear is only average, but you get a tyre that sticks to the road, not some plastic junk that will slide out of the corner. So I think average treadware is good compromise for great grip and handling.
-Comfort is average. Not too hard, not soft. Like most summer tyres.
-Stability on rain was great, except for this one time, when I got scary aquaplaning at 90kmh for 2 seconds. Now I don't feel so safe anymore :( Maybe its because they are down to 5.7mm.
-Resistance to roll. Economy. The tyre has extremely low resistance to roll. Much much lower than the my winter tyres.
-I don't think there is a better tyre for the money. I'd buy it again. Hope they can fix the noise problem. If they do, it will be the best tyre in its class.